-30-

some crushing and faulting might not be altogether inimical to oil
accumulation. More work along the river bed near this locality and in
the hills north and south might shed more light on the problem.

The wider, gentler structures near Steamboat Mountain deserve
consideration and further work. Should a westerly closure be found
west of Mill Creek, its valley offers promise. The dips are westerly
between miles 51 and 60 on the old road and miles 51 and 54 on the new
road, and mile 51 is evidently at the crest of a gentle anticline as
the covered area to the east is apparently underlain by strata con-
forming to the regional dip, that is, easterly,

Drilling depths from horizons in the Cretaceous formations
to the Triassic cannot be estimated with any degree of accuracy. From.
the Lower Cretaceous beds, in the vicinity of miles 85 to 87, the
shallowest drilling is to be expected. As the Triassic is upthrust
immediately to the west, it seems likely that 2,000 to 3,000 feet should
be a maximum of Lower Cretaceous cover. Petroleum might here be.found
in the Cretaceous strata themselves, being driven into them from the
adjoining Triassic beds to the west, in case shese.-beds are Benet penoue

; The main hope for petroleum production, lies in the thick
assemblage of marine, calcareous, argillaceous, and arenaceous beds of
upper Palaeozoic and Triassic ages, and in their frontal relationship to
the Rocky Mountains. A variety of structures is available, but a test

location should be made only after careful field investigation.

Clay

Fifteen feet of greyish white olay. outcrops below a gravel...
cover in the west bank. of.Coal River, from Las ond & miles above. the .
Highway. In @il1 probability: the area underlain.3s of considerable: £
extents, as each clay outcrop is about 100 yards in n longta and, the two.
cuberops are about 200 yards apart. The TORUIGES basin is ae of that
in which the lignite occurs.
‘A 2-pound connie of the clay was submitted to the purer of
Mines, Department of Jie and Resources, Ottawa, and the following
“report was received:

Nature of material - 2a buff-coloured, smooth clay that was found
to be non-calcareous by the dilute hydrochloric acid test,

Water required to temper to stiff plastic state - 27 percent.
Working properties - plastic, works well.
Drying Ligeia - satisfactory.

Average drying shrinkage - 6 per cent.

Firing Behaviour

ae A A A ee RY ne NE

Fire
Cone Shrinkage Absorption “Colour Remarks
fo To
2(2075 °F.) ie Gc wel iy 4.0  Gream Very hard
ae |
12(2890 Fe). 5.4 0.0) Grey Vitrified
ihae as (overfired and
____ bloated)

a a NN NR NNT